Abu Dhabi: The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has strongly condemned the attempt by the Houthi militia to target Abha International Airport in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through a drone, which was intercepted by the coalition forces, the Emirates News Agency (WAM) reported.
In a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the UAE considered the attempt to target the airport and the resulting injury of a number of civilians as a cowardly terrorist act and a war crime that requires a deterrent response.
The UAE called on the international community to support the measures taken by the Arab coalition led by Saudi Arabia to stop the Houthis from targeting civilians and civilian facilities and to deter their threats to countries in the region.
The ministry reiterated the UAE’s full solidarity with Saudi Arabia in the face of such terrorist attacks and against every threat to the Kingdom’s security.
On Thursday, February 10, the authorities destroyed the drone fired at the international airport in the southern city of Abha, but shrapnel caused some injuries, SPA reported.
At least twelve people have been injured including an Indian resident by shrapnel from a drone intercepted by air defences at Saudi Arabia’s Abha airport.
Yemen has been mired in civil war since September 2014 when the Houthi militia forced the internationally recognized government of President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi out of the capital Sanaa.
Since March 2015, the Arab coalition has been carrying out military operations in support of government forces in Yemen, to confront the Iranian-backed Houthis, who control several governorates, including the capital, Sanaa.
Several regions in Saudi Arabia are constantly being attacked by ballistic missiles and booby-trapped drones, which are launched from Yemen towards their airports and oil facilities.
The Iran-backed Houthi militia launched in February 2021, a major offensive toward Marib in an attempt to seize control of the province, the last northern stronghold of the Saudi-backed Yemeni government.
